Dundee United boss Mixu Paatelainen rues Motherwell loss
Wednesday 17 February 2016 07:33, UK
Dundee United manager Mixu Paatelainen rued a missed opportunity to cut the gap on their relegation rivals after a 3-0 defeat to Motherwell at Tannadice.
Scott McDonald scored twice to earn Well their first Premiership win of 2016 to move his side out of the relegation play-off spot. It also leaves United staring the drop in the face, 13 points off Kilmarnock in 11th, although they do have a game in hand.
Stephen McManus headed home James McFadden's free-kick on the stroke of half-time but United should have levelled 10 minutes into the second half only for Billy McKay to inadvertently block John Rankin's header in the goalmouth.
The hosts were then left to rue a glaring miss from Blair Spittal just before McDonald converted a 72nd-minute corner before the former Celtic striker sealed the win with a long-range strike with 10 minutes left.
Beforehand United had the chance to cut their deficit on Motherwell to nine points with a game in hand and Paatelainen was baffled by the way they let it slip.
"Too flat, not enough urgency, not enough quality in certain situations," he said. "It was a poor performance. We did realise and highlight to the players that this is a great opportunity, don't miss that opportunity. But we did.
"Our preparation was talking about the importance of the game, making sure we had energy and were sharp and pressed and made it difficult for Motherwell. And we got a flat performance. I need to speak to the players about why that was.
"It's not always physical, sometimes it's mental. Maybe one or two players can't handle it. Maybe they start panicking a little bit."
United have Hearts up next but Paatelainen said: "It's not over, we don't give up. We just concentrate on getting ready for Saturday. Of course, it's a long road.
"It's not a 3-0 hammering. Two set-piece goals. We were poor in those situations: flat-footed and poor marking. That has been the story of the season. Those two chances, Rankin and Spittal, you simply need to score. Clear-cut chances."
Motherwell manager Mark McGhee hailed an ugly but effective performance which moved his side up to eighth in the Premiership.
"That could get football stopped," McGhee said. "It was horrible. But we have watched the way they have been playing recently and it's been effective against other teams so we came here determined that, at worst, we were going to match them."
